The essential episodes of Arrested Development
Watch these 15 in order and you've got Arrested Development — each pick states its reason.
- 01
Meet the Bluths. In the pilot, Michael decides to take a job in Arizona after being passed over by George Sr. for head of the Bluth Company. George Sr. is jailed, and the family realizes they need Michael.
- 02
When George Michael is rejected by a private school due to the family's reputation, Michael hires a publicist from his gym who he's been flirting with to change the public perspective of the Bluths. Meanwhile, Tobias is sent to Boston to reclaim his medical license.
- 03
When Lucille throws an anniversary party for Tobias and Lindsay on Valentine's Day, Michael gives an impassioned speech about love. This makes Marta realize she has feelings for him and Lindsay realize she wants a divorce. Meanwhile, Buster decides to move out of the penthouse and Lucille revels in living alone for the first time.
- 04
After learning that Marta has feelings for him, Michael goes to her and they decide to get permission from Gob before taking things to the next level. Meanwhile, Lindsay and Tobias finally get to the heart of his "never-nude" problem and George Sr. faces his first hearing.
- 05
Michael falls for his George Michael's ethics teacher, whom his son also has a crush on. Meanwhile, Lucille adopts a 14-year old Korean boy, and George Sr.'s "Caged Wisdom" tapes have given him a new admirer.
- 06
When George Sr. is apprehended, the police realize they have mistakenly caught Oscar, George Sr.'s twin brother. With George Sr. at large, Michael is next in line to be prosecuted for the Bluth Co. crimes and must find funds immediately to stay out of jail. Too proud and angry to ask his family members for help, Michael is further vexed to find out that they are doing perfectly well without him - Lindsay and Tobias have decided to have an open relationship, Gob is running the company and Lucille has asked Oscar to move in and be a role model for Buster.
- 07
The One Where They Build a House
Due to Michael's continuing legal troubles, Gob agrees to be the company figurehead while Michael pulls the strings, an arrangement which, of course, ends up driving Michael completely crazy when Gob's showmanship and ludicrous ideas impress the board. Meanwhile, the mistaken identities continue when George Sr. is arrested in Mexico for a crime that Oscar committed, and Oscar takes George Sr.'s place in a way no one could have predicted.
- 08
When Lucille hires a bounty hunter to find George Sr., he delivers the disturbing news that George Sr. is dead. Each Bluth copes with the pain in a different way: Gob tries to pull off an elaborate illusion, Maeby tries to set up Lindsay with the bounty hunter, and Michael tries to mend his son's relationship. Meanwhile, George Sr. is closer than they all think.
- 09
Gob and Buster team up for some magic tricks with the help of Buster's fake hand, but when Tony Wonder, a rival magician, starts to mentor them, somebody gets the finger. Meanwhile, Michael is forced to delegate some work when he's hospitalized and Lindsay teaches George Michael how to drive using the staircar.
- 10
When George Michael gives Ann a promise ring, Michael is concerned it's too much, too fast and decides to talk to her parents, the Veals. But when his plan backfires, Michael takes matters into his own hands. Meanwhile, George Sr. enlists Gob's help in abducting Lucille and taking her to renew their vows in order to get her away from Oscar.
- 11
Due to shoddy plumbing on the model home, Michael must call an inspector to check out the house. But when he asks George Sr. to vacate the attic so that he won't have to cover for him, Gob steps in to help and all hell breaks loose. Meanwhile, George Michael helps Ann stage a boycott of the American version of "Dangerous Liaisons" and they inadvertently turn the movie into a bigger hit for Maeby. And when Michael asks Tobias to keep an eye on Kitty, their relationship begins to bloom, much to Lindsay's dismay.
- 12
Michael is back in charge of The Bluth Co. and things appear to be on track. However, when Michael decides to take his son on a trip to the family cabin, his plan goes off course when he decides to track down George Sr. and ends up in Reno. Meanwhile, Lindsay - along with George Michael and Maeby, who are still dealing with the aftermath of their awkward kiss - goes searching for Tobias and discovers he's not blue without her. Gob goes to an event hosted by a group that reunites abandoned sons with their fathers and gets a surprise of his own, while Lucille is up to her old tricks dealing with Buster.
- 13
Buster struggles to make it on his own and break away from his overbearing mother.
- 14
Gob acquires a new office for the company with a "premium view." Michael gets a shock when he returns to a place that holds a lot of memories.
- 15
As the Bluths come together to unveil a wall, they once again discover that they deserve nothing more than to be saddled with each other forever.
Shows like Arrested Development
The closest matches on shared genres, ranked by match strength and popularity.
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- 06Comedy·FamilyThe essential episodes of Mom2013–2021·CBS
Christy is a single mom who, after years of questionable choices, is now sober and trying to get her life on track.
